Darkoshi

Because I like my clothing to be loose, I often end up with shirts that are very wide on the torso. Sometimes that bothers me when I look in the mirror, because the shirt, which may otherwise look awesome, sticks out in back or puffs up in the middle, making it look less good.

One quick fix is to use safety pins to pinch in the left and right sides a few inches up from the bottom of the shirt.

Another thing I've done is to sew a short inside seam on the left and right sides, angling inwards towards the bottom. That keeps it from billowing out on the bottom. But then the shirt may still be too wide and puffy on the top.

A better option may be to turn the shirt inside out and sew new seams for the entire left and right sides a few inches inward from the original seams. Extend the original sleeve-seam inwards a few inches, and then curve downwards for the new side seam. The problem I've had with this in the past, is that when the shirt is turned right-side out again, the fabric bunches up at the sleeve-to-side seam. That happened even if I cut off most of the excess fabric. The following page explains how to prevent the fabric from bunching up.

Sewing Tips – Clipping Corners and Curves.

The only difficulty then is how to sew the edges of the seam to prevent fraying, after having clipped the edges. I've been doing it by hand-sewing those parts, and sewing around the clipped edges, in and out, so that the new line of thread doesn't make it bunch up again.

So far, I've done that for 3 shirts.

I also hand-sewed belt-loops onto one pair of pants, and started sewing them onto another. Having a belt feels much more comfortable and convenient to me, than having only elastic or a drawstring at the waist. And I can clip things like my keys to the belt or to the loops.

This was my 3rd time being called in for jury duty, but the first time I was actually picked to sit on a jury. The experience was very interesting.

It was a lawsuit; I was glad it wasn't a criminal case. The trial took 3 days. We went home in the evenings. The first day, we were allowed to leave the courthouse for lunch. The next 2 days, lunch was ordered for us and we weren't allowed out.

I noticed very quickly that the demeanor and style of one of the lawyers appealed to me, and that of the other lawyer was off-putting. I did my best to ignore both feelings, and to pay unbiased attention to the proceedings. The judge seemed laid back and slightly amused, as if he'd been through thousands of similar cases. The lawyers were all obviously trying to do a good job for their clients, and I felt a bit sorry that one side or another would have to lose.

There were 12 jurors and 2 alternates. Of the total, only 2 were men.

We were instructed not to discuss the case with anyone, not even the other jurors, until all the testimony was finished. There was a jury room where we gathered in the mornings, and where we had to go each time the lawyers wanted to discuss/dispute something with the judge during the trial. We'd go into the court room, sit down, listen for a while, then have to get up, go to the jury room to wait, then return to the court room and sit down again. Repeat, repeat, repeat. I didn't count how many times.

At one point, the "cool" lawyer did a nifty thing with his glasses. He had pushed them up on his forehead while shuffling through papers, and then did a quick head movement that snapped the glasses down in place again. I'm not sure if it happened by accident, or if it was a practiced skill.

During the closing arguments, the lawyer who didn't appeal to me made religious references 3 times. First, he picked up the bible which had been used to swear in the witnesses, and talked about some particular moral story in there. I raised my eyebrow at that. Really? Later he mentioned a preacher. At the end, he picked up the bible again, and reminded us of that story again. When the other lawyer gave his rebuttal, he basically said that he didn't care about some story from 2000 years ago (that surprised me too), that we should consider the facts of this case.

I didn't realize it at the time, but a feeling of camaraderie was growing in me in regards to the other jurors and even the court officials. During those many trips to the jury room, as we weren't allowed to discuss the case, the other jurors would chat. One lady especially, told several entertaining stories about her life. When we were finally allowed to debate the case, it was an amicable process, even though voices got loud as opinions were shared. Our decision had to be unanimous, and we eventually came to one.

Back in the courtroom, the foreman handed off our written decision to the judge. The judge flipped through the pages and stared at the last page for a long time. I began to worry that we'd done something wrong; that the judge would declare a mistrial. But he finally handed the sheets to the clerk, who read out the decision, and then it was over.

At the end, I realized that I'd likely never see these people again, and even if I did, I'd probably not recognize them or remember where I knew them from. It made me feel slightly sad. People with whom you've shared a special experience as well as minor hardships. Having to report for duty each day, with the threat of officers coming after you, if you didn't make it there on time. Having to spend time in a small room together. Having to sit quietly in court, paying close attention to everything. Having to tuck* my shirt tail in.

In the hours and days afterward, I wondered if we'd made the right decision. It seemed like we had, based on what was presented to us. But what about the things that hadn't been presented? What about the things we were sent out of the court room, not to hear? The trial being over, I finally did some internet searches to find more information on the case. I found a little, but not much. (Actually, it surprised me that the judge never told us not to do any internet searches before the trial was over - unless he did and I somehow missed it. But I assumed that we shouldn't, and therefore didn't.)

*The first morning, as I was following other potential jurors into the courtroom, a bailiff waved a few guys including me to the side, telling us to tuck our shirt tails in. At first I didn't understand what he had said, but he was also pointing to a sign on the wall which said the same thing. My first reaction was to frown in annoyance, but I went ahead and did it. Maybe the bailiff mistook me for a man, but if the other guys had to do it, it seemed reasonable for me to have to do so as well. Every day after that, I was careful to remember to tuck my shirt in, in the morning. This entailed choosing a shirt which would actually look good tucked in, of which I only have a few. The others are wider and billow at my waist and look ridiculous to me when I tuck them in. But I've just now found this page, which explains the "military tuck" which I'll have to try out.

Random thought yesterday: The glitter is going to wear off more in the front than the back. So not only will (this belt) be deglittered, but it'll be deglittered unevenly.

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My personal allergy season is starting.

I had written down "sweet coltsfoot" on a to-order/to-buy list early this year. Never got around to it. I can't remember if it was in relation to allergies, or post-nasal drip / cough, or headaches.

Another important distinction:

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) versus Sweet Coltsfoot (Petasites *; also known as Butterbur).

Both naturally contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which can damage the liver. So it is advised to get products certified PA-free.


The name "tussilago" itself means "cough suppressant".
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Butterbur root extracts have been reported to be effective in reducing frequency and severity of migraine headaches.
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a study showed Butterbur extract to be an effective treatment for hay fever without the sedative effect


Treating Seasonal Allergies the Old School Indian Way..Revisited

I found out that some men's dress pants have extra fabric purposely put into the back seam, so that the waist can be easily altered wider. How cool is that? Why don't they do that with women's pants too? But I can't complain too much on that point, as actually only some men's dress pants have this feature, and it seems that khakis and jeans never do. I found only 2 pants in the house with the feature, and ironically they're mine, not Qiao's.

Boy's pants or shorts often have elastic strips with button holes sewn into the inside of the waistband. This is a nifty feature too. But the buttons they attach to tend to dig into the skin on my hips and make me itch, so it's not super nifty.

This is a sweet story about a boy who likes wearing skirts and dresses, and what his father decided to do about it.

The original German version is here.

Excerpt from the end:
When other boys (it’s nearly always boys) want to make fun of him, he smiles and says, "You just don’t dare to wear skirts and dresses, because your dads don’t dare to either."

The ladies' outfits are absolutely gorgeous compared to the men's.

Badass Japanese Archery: Now It’s The Ladies’ Turn

Traditional Japanese Archery: More Ladies, Part 1

Traditional Japanese Archery: More Ladies, Part 2

More Badass Japanese Archery


The rest of the blog has many more wonderful photographs of Japan.

New Balance MR890RG




New Balance MR760ROB




New Balance MR870R

I drove to Myrtle Beach. The drive there was fine. The day was cloudy and there was some rain, so I did not get hot during the drive, in spite of my car not having air-conditioning.

My hotel room was fine. From some reviews of the hotel I had read, I had been a bit worried, but the room was fine. It had a fine view of the ocean.

I went to the ocean. I was wearing my new swim outfit, consisting of boys'/men's swim-shorts and a girls'/women's sleeveless rashguard. The outfit felt very comfortable. It's the first time I recall ever feeling comfortable, and not at all dorky, in a swimsuit. I even went wandering around the hotel grounds in the outfit afterwards, rather than going to my room right away to change out of it.

The ocean was fine. It wasn't cold. It was salty, but that is to be expected of the ocean. I didn't encounter any garbage nor any sharks nor any stinging jellyfish in the water. There were nice waves.

Me being in the ocean consists of wading out in the water to chest-height, watching for tall waves in order to jump with them and avoid my face getting wet, doggy-paddling a bit, floating on my back a bit, and as I mentioned, watching out for waves. It's sort of a game, me against the ocean. Of course, the ocean would always win against me, so I only go out chest-deep, enough to be somewhat dangerous but not muchly so. Even then the ocean tends to win. It did on the 2nd day, smacking me down with a big wave, and then pummeling me with another. I excused myself from the game in order to expel stinging saltwater from my airways. Not to leave on a defeated note, I then went back into the surf and waded knee-deep for a while.

Then I even went into one of the swimming pools for a while. I hadn't been in a swimming pool for over a decade or so. (There's something unappealing about getting into a tank of chlorine-smelling water in which other people have been hanging around in). I doggy paddled a bit, and swam a bit, and floated on my back. It was ok. Nothing particularly special. I determined that I hadn't been missing much in that decade or so. But it was ok.

I was glad for my new swim outfit, which I felt comfortable in. I was glad for my menstrual cup, which made going into the water possible, in spite of my period having started the day of the trip.

Seeing the laser lights at night was neat, even though I worried about the beams catching me in my eyes.

I went out to eat with my family. It was ok.

I thought about what it would be like, to be down at the ocean without other people around, so that I could listen to the ocean talking without any distractions... I realized that it would either not make any impact on me at all (no different than having people around), or that I would feel sadness.

Internet access was sporadic at the hotel, as was my cell-phone signal.
I flipped through the channels on the cable television in my room. I watched part of a movie.

The next day I went shopping and bought some things. That was fine.

Then I drove back home. The temperature was in the 100s that day, and it was a hot drive back. But it was ok. I drove through Sumter, to see the town. There wasn't much special to see though, on the route I took. I also stopped at a boat landing by the Wateree River. It was sort of neat down there... I would have liked to just sit on the landing for a while, watching the river flow past. But I was the only person there, and I had left my car windows rolled down, and I felt a bit uneasy that someone might walk out of the bushes and/or steal from my car while it was out of my sight.

I managed to avoid a sun-burn while at the ocean. My left arm nearly got sunburned on the drive back. But so far it's ok and not peeling.

Forestfen called and asked me if my extra day at the beach was "wonderful". (She left the day before me). I said that it was ok. I don't think she really heard my answer, but I don't mind. It's easier if she thinks I'm happy. Sometimes I wonder to myself, is she for real? Does she really experience things which seem plain or okay or fine to me as "wonderful"? Do other people experience things like she does?

I like this short film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyQP_nuhQ1Q

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It's been striking me lately, the contradiction between the concurrent messages put forth by society about breasts... that they are beautiful, and that most people really like having them or looking at them or touching them, while at the same time that they are obscene and porn-ful and indecent and slutty, and must be covered up and hidden.
It also seems ironic that babies are allowed to look at them and suck on them, but that older children must be "protected" from the sight of them.

On the way to a 4th of July picnic at the lake, the topic of conversation turned to the strange fashion statement some people make, wearing their pants down at their knees, or below their butts, as if to show off their underwear. (Or maybe it is to show off their nicely proportioned buttocks?)

At the lake, it was crowded, sunny, warm, and noisy. After a while, I noticed an aesthetically pleasing-looking person... dressed in a red/black patterned shirt similar to one of mine, with black pants with a silvery chain on one side, and a glittery logo on the other, and a dapper hat... and, to my pleasant surprise, they appeared to be physically female, based on their chest. But they were definitely dressed in a masculine style. Hmmm, someone sort of like me... cool.

But she/he had zir pants hanging low in back, like the people we had been talking about on the ride there :)
Only partway down the butt, and it didn't really look bad, but still amusing.